Helenium plant named ‘Ruby Tuesday’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Helenium  plant named ‘Ruby Tuesday’, characterized by its upright, somewhat outwardly spreading and uniform plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit; freely flowering habit; inflorescences with dark red-colored ray florets; and strong peduncles that hold the inflorescences above the foliar plane.

Botanical designation: Helenium hybrida.

Cultivar denomination: ‘Ruby Tuesday’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Helenium plant, botanically known as Helenium hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Ruby Tuesday’.

The new Helenium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Hillegom, The Netherlands. The objective of the program is to create and develop new Helenium cultivars with double inflorescence form, sterile flowers and a long flowering period.

The new Helenium originated from a cross-pollination by the Inventor in 1998 of two unnamed selections of Helenium hybrida, not patented. The new Helenium was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Hillegom, The Netherlands in 1999.

Asexual reproduction of the new Helenium by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Hillegom, The Netherlands since 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Helenium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Ruby Tuesday has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Ruby Tuesday’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Ruby Tuesday’ as a new and distinct cultivar of Helenium:

-   -   1. Upright, somewhat outwardly spreading and uniform plant         habit.     -   2. Moderately vigorous growth habit.     -   3. Freely flowering habit.     -   4. Inflorescences with dark red-colored ray florets.     -   5. Strong peduncles that hold the inflorescences above the         foliar plane.

In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hillegom, The Netherlands, plants of the new Helenium differed from plants of the parent selections primarily in plant form as plants of the new Helenium were more compact than plants of the parent selections.

Plants of the new Helenium can be compared to plants of the Helenium cultivar Rubinzwerg, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hillegom, The Netherlands, plants of the new Helenium differed from plants of the cultivar Rubinzwerg in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Helenium were more compact than plants of         the cultivar Rubinzwerg.     -   2. Plants of the new Helenium were more freely flowering than         plants of the cultivar Rubinzwerg.     -   3. Plants of the new Helenium had smaller inflorescences than         plants of the cultivar Rubinzwerg.     -   4. Ray florets of plants of the new Helenium were darker red in         color than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Rubinzwerg.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

The accompanying photograph illustrates the overall appearance of the new Helenium. This photograph show the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photograph may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Helenium. The photograph comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Ruby Tuesday’ grown in a container.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2001 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Hillegom, The Netherlands during the summer in an outdoor nursery and under conditions and practices which approximate those generally used in commercial Helenium production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 14° C. to 31° C. and night temperatures ranged from 4° C. to 16° C. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for typical flowering plants. Plants were about one year old when the photographs and description were taken.

-   Botanical classification: Helenium hybrida cultivar Ruby Tuesday. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female, or seed, parent.—Unnamed selection of Helenium             hybrida, not patented.         -   Male, or pollen, parent.—Unnamed selection of Helenium             hybrida, not patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—Terminal vegetative cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots.—About two weeks.         -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—About three to four weeks.         -   Root description.—Fine.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching; dense. -   Plant description:     -   -   Appearance and growth habit.—Perennial herbaceous container             and cut flower plant. Upright and somewhat outwardly             spreading plant habit; inverted triangle. Freely basal             branching with about six primary branches. Moderately             vigorous growth habit.         -   Plant height.—About 61 cm.         -   Plant width or area of spread.—About 39 cm.         -   Lateral branch description.—Appearance: Mostly rounded with             four vertical “wings”; wings about 2 mm in depth and dull in             appearance. Length: About 52 cm. Diameter: About 6 mm.             Internode length: About 2.6 cm. Strength: Strong. Texture:             Smooth, glabrous. Color: 144B; wings, 143A. -   Foliage description:     -   -   Arrangement.—Alternate; simple; sessile.         -   Length.—About 9.3 cm.         -   Width.—About 2.3 cm.         -   Shape.—Narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate.         -   Apex.—Acute.         -   Base.—Cuneate; decurrent.         -   Margin.—Dentate.         -   Venation pattern.—Pinnate.         -   Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Smooth, glabrous.         -   Color.—Developing foliage, upper surface: Between 137A and             143A. Developing foliage, lower surface: 138A. Fully             expanded foliage, upper surface: 137A; venation, 144A. Fully             expanded foliage, lower surface: 137B to 137C; venation,             144A. -   Inflorescence description:     -   -   Appearance/arrangement.—Single terminal and axillary             inflorescences held above the foliage on strong erect             peduncles. Composite inflorescence form, radially             symmetrical; flabellate-shaped ray florets; disc florets             massed at the center; ray and disc florets develop             acropetally on a capitulum. Inflorescences face mostly             upright.         -   Flowering response.—Plants flower continuous and freely from             midsummer to late summer in The Netherlands. Inflorescences             persistent.         -   Postproduction longevity.—Inflorescences maintain good color             and substance for about three weeks on the plant and about             two weeks as cut flowers.         -   Quantity of inflorescences.—Freely flowering habit; about             180 inflorescences per plant develop during the flowering             season.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Inflorescence bud.—Length: About 9 mm. Diameter: About 1 cm.             Shape: Flattened globular. Color: N144A.         -   Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 3.8 cm. Depth (height):             About 1.8 cm. Disc diameter: About 1.6 cm. Receptacle             height: About 5 mm. Receptacle diameter: About 3 mm.         -   Ray florets.—Length: About 1.8 cm. Width: About 9 mm. Shape:             Narrowly flabellate. Apex: Tri-lobed. Base: Attenuate.             Margin: Entire. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Mostly             smooth; towards the base, pubescent. Orientation: Initially             upright then perpendicular to the peduncle. Number of ray             florets per inflorescence: About 16 in a single whorl.             Color: When opening, upper surface: 187B. When opening,             lower surface: 187A to 187B. Fully opened, upper surface:             Between 53A and 187B; color becoming closer to 185A with             development. Fully opened, lower surface: 183B.         -   Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, elongated. Apex: Five-pointed;             acute. Length: About 4 mm. Width, apex: About 1 mm. Width,             base: About 0.8 mm. Number of disc florets per             inflorescence: Numerous, about 600. Color immature: 13A to             13B; towards the apex, N186C. Color, mature: Apex: Darker             than N186C. Mid-section: 13A to 13B. Base: 145D.         -   Phyllaries.—Length: About 1.2 mm. Diameter: About 1.5 mm.             Shape: Linear. Apex: Acute. Base: Cuneate. Margin: Entire.             Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Number             per inflorescence: About 16 in a single whorl. Color, upper             surface: 143B. Color, lower surface: 143A.         -   Peduncles.—Length, terminal peduncle: About 5.6 cm. Length,             fourth peduncle: About 17.6 cm. Length, seventh peduncle:             About 21.5 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm. Angle: Mostly erect to             about 10° from vertical. Strength: Moderately strong.             Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: 143A.         -   Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets             only. Stamen number: Five per floret. Anther shape: Linear.             Anther length: About 2 mm. Anther color: 162C. Pollen             amount: None observed. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and             disc florets. Pistil number: One per floret. Pistil length:             About 3 mm. Stigma shape: Rounded. Stigma color: 12A. Style             length: About 2 mm. Style color: 150D. Ovary color: 150C.         -   Fruit/seed.—Fruit and seed development have not been             observed. -   Disease/pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests common to     Helenium has not been observed on plants grown under outdoor     conditions. -   Garden performance: Plants of the new Helenium have been observed to     have good garden performance and to tolerate rain, wind and     temperatures from about 0° to about 35° C. 

1. A new and distinct Helenium plant named ‘Ruby Tuesday’ as illustrated and described. 